Soccer|U.S. Cruises to Final Round of World Cup Qualifying With Win Over Trinidad

Advertisement

Supported by

U.S. Cruises to Final Round of World Cup Qualifying With Win Over Trinidad

Image

Breel Embolo scored against goalkeeper Rui Patricio in Switzerland’s 2-0 win over Portugal in a World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday.CreditCreditRuben Sprich/Reuters

By The Associated Press

Sept. 6, 2016

Jozy Altidore scored twice in a three-minute span of the second half, Sacha Kljestan and Paul Arriola had goals, and the United States beat Trinidad and Tobago, 4-0, Tuesday night in Jacksonville, Fla., to reach the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

The Americans finished atop Group C of the semifinal round in the North and Central American and Caribbean region and will open the hexagonal on Nov. 11 against Mexico.

Christian Pulisic made his first United States start after seven appearances as a substitute, and at 17 years 353 days old, he became the youngest American to start a qualifier. He showed pace and an ability to take on defenders down the left flank, assisting on Altidore’s second goal.

SWITZERLAND 2, PORTUGAL 0Portugal, the European champion, failed to overcome the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo this time, and lost in its first competitive match since defeating France in the Euro 2016 final.

Ronaldo had been left out of the squad while recovering from a knee injury sustained in the opening minutes of the Euros final.

A Swiss team that mostly lacked spark in France fired into life with two goals midway through the first half in Basel, Switzerland. Breel Embolo headed the opening goal in the 23rd minute, reacting fastest to goalkeeper Rui Patricio’s parry of a Ricardo Rodriguez free kick.

A fine fast break in the 30th was finished by Admir Mehmedi with a curling shot into the top-right corner of the Portugal goal.

Portugal’s loss was its first in 15 competitive matches under Coach Fernando Santos.

FRANCE 0, BELARUS 0 A little-known goalkeeper from an unheralded club had an inspired night as Belarus held France to a draw in Paris.

France entered the game in great shape, buoyed by its run to the Euro 2016 final. Predictably, the French dominated, but they were thwarted by Andrei Gorbunov, a 33-year-old goaltender making only the ninth international appearance of his career.

SWEDEN 1, NETHERLANDS 1 Life after Zlatan Ibrahimovic began well for the Swedes at home when Marcus Berg struck just before halftime, but Wesley Sneijder tied the game midway through the second half.

There appeared little danger when a Sweden move broke down in the 43rd. But Netherlands midfielder Kevin Strootman trod on the ball, and Berg reacted to take it off him and beat goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet with a chip from just inside the penalty area.

Although the Dutch team is rebuilding with young players, the veteran Sneijder rescued matters with a shot into the bottom right corner.

BELGIUM 3, CYPRUS 0 After a disappointing exit from the European Championship, Belgium began its bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup under its new coach, Roberto Martinez, with a victory in Cyprus.

Striker Romelu Lukaku scored a goal in each half as the talent-packed team looked determined to shake off its underachiever tag.

GREECE 4, GIBRALTAR 1 Gibraltar scored in its World Cup debut but lost to the 2004 European champion Greece.

Playing the game in Faro, Portugal, while its stadium is being built, Gibraltar leveled Greece’s 10th-minute opener with a curling shot by Liam Walker in the 26th. Greece then added three more goals between the 44th minute and the halftime whistle.

BULGARIA 4, LUXEMBOURG 3 Luxembourg lost at Bulgaria after leading in the second half and leveling in stoppage time. Bulgaria, a 1994 World Cup semifinalist, scored the decisive goal in the second minute of time added on.

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA 5, ESTONIA 0 Bosnia-Herzegovina, at home, routed Estonia as it seeks to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup.

The veteran defender Emir Spahic scored with an early close-range header, and the captain Edin Dzeko converted from the penalty spot. Bosnia added late goals from Haris Medunjanin, Vedad Ibisevic and Spahic again.

FAEROE ISLANDS 0, HUNGARY 0 Hungary, which led three times in a thrilling 3-3 tie with Portugal in the round of 16 at Euro 2016, wound up grateful just to come away with a point on the road against the 135th-ranked Faeroe Islands.

LATVIA 1, ANDORRA 0 Latvia benefited from a goalkeeping error early in the second half to take all three points from the world No. 203 Andorra.

A header by Latvia’s Valerijs Sabala in the 48th looped over goalkeeper Ferran Pol, who was stranded far off his line while trying to claim the cross.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section B, Page 12 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. Cruises by Trinidad in Cup Qualifier. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe